Madhepura (Bihar): At least 10 people, including nine children, were killed after an overcrowded boat capsized in a flooded tributary of the Kosi river in Bihar, police said.

The accident took place at around 10.30 pm on Thursday night in Alamnagar block in the Ratwara police outpost area. There were 11 persons aboard the boat and only one of them, a girl, could be saved, District Magistrate Upendra Kumar said.

Among the dead are five girls and four boys, all aged between 8 to 12 years, Kumar said.

As tragedy struck, the screams of the victims brought villagers nearby to their rescue. While nine of the victims drowned before the rescuers could reach them, a girl who was admitted to a local hospital in a serious condition died Friday morning, the DM added.

The victims, who belong to two families, were being ferried back home to Khawan village from Pandit Basa village on the other side of the river where they had gone to attend a function at the residence of a district JD(U) leader, Mohan Sharma.

Kosi and other rivers have been in spate since the onset of monsoon. Thursday night's incident is being attributed to a rise in the water level in the tributary river.

Madhepura is the Parliamentary constituency of JD (U) national president Sharad Yadav.